History of Nuclear War IXThis is the ninth tournament in a series which explores the history of nuclear war. This one focuses on current and future possibilities, now that the Cold War no longer dominates the political scene. It is the Sunny counterpart to History of Nuclear War IV. For more information on this series, visit the History of Nuclear War Series InfoCentre

Eligibility: To play in this tournament, you must be premium, have a turns-taken record of 97% or better, at least 100 completed games, and be at least a PFC on sign-up.

Procedure: In each tourney in this series, the first nine phases will consist of multiplayer Standard games. In each of these phases, only the first player eliminated from each game is eliminated from the tournament. All others will continue to the next phase. As soon as all games in a phase have had one player eliminated, I will begin the next phase with the survivors. Winning these games will not influence the course of the tournament; only that first elimination is significant.

In the Final phase, all remaining players will play simultaneously in nine multiplayer Terminator games. These games will be completed and winning them will count, as will the number of kills.

Settings: All games will be Casual, Automatic, Chained, No Fog and No Trench. Maps will vary widely from phase to phase. Needless to say, spoils in all games will be nuclear.

The most popular scenario for the outbreak of the next nuclear war starts with the Middle East. Whether you consider the extreme strategic importance of Middle Eastern Oil, the maelstrom of religious and ethnic hatreds that have consumed the region for thousands of years, or just its unfortunate positioning as the lynchpin that connects Europe, Asia, and Africa, it's easy to understand why so many Doomsday predictions feature the Middle East.Phase 140 players in 5 groups will play 8-player games on the Middle East map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

On the other hand, WWIII could erupt in Central Asia. India and Pakistan have been facing each other with nukes for decades now. Unresolved conflicts swirl everywhere around them.Phase 235 players in 5 groups will play 7-player games on the Rail Asia (Beta) map. If for whatever reason there are problems with the map and it is withdrawn, we will use the Indian Empire map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

Some people think the newest superpower, China, could trigger WWIII as it grows in dominance and begins to throw its weight around. In the words of Robert J. Ringer, "I suspect China will get a mouthful of plutonium when it tries to gobble up Taiwan."Phase 330 players in 5 groups will play 6-player games on the Far East map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

In the 1950s and 60s it was often theorized that the extreme heat released by a nuclear war would melt the poles and make the whole world brutally hot.Phase 425 players in 5 groups will play 5-player games on the Extreme Global Warming map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

Today, almost nobody supports the idea that nuclear war would lead to global warming. On the contrary, most scientists believe that smoke and soot blown into the upper atmosphere would lead to a phase of extreme cooling referred to as Nuclear Winter. If life continued at all, it might continue under conditions resembling Antarctica.Phase 520 players in 4 groups will play 5-player games on the Antarctica map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

Whichever way it happens, nuclear war is no longer something only the combatants need to think about. It is a sword that hangs over every nation on the planet.Phase 616 players in 2 groups will play 8-player games on the World 2.1 map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

Maybe our first nuclear war will encompass our Moon. Science fiction writers have often examined this idea from many angles.Phase 714 players in 2 groups will play 7-player games on the Lunar War map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

Maybe, as we learn to colonize the asteroids and the outer planets, war will begin "out there".Phase 812 players in 2 groups will play 6-player games on the Solar System map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

We may even face nuclear war when we finally begin interstellar flights.Phase 910 players in 2 groups will play 5-player games on the Space map. The first player eliminated in each game is out of the tournament. The remainder will go on to the next round.

Phase 10: The nuclear cataclysmIn the final round, the eight remaining players will face off simultaneously on all nine maps used in the tournament thus far. These games will be Terminator, and players will score 1 point for each kill and two extra points for winning a game. The player who scores the most points in the Cataclysm phase will win the tournament.